As any busy parent, careerist or modern life-juggler knows, finding "me time" can be a challenge. And despite an official fall in working hours, Britons are struggling more than ever to find time for themselves, according to new research.

Official figures show the number of working hours has fallen since the mid-1990s, with the population working 32m fewer hours a week. But the research, by One Poll, concluded we now have eight-and-a-half hours less time each week for ourselves than five years ago.

The biggest time-guzzler was work: over 50% of people put in a full, five-day week, and almost half brought their work home. The survey, which polled 3,000 people, said 13% of Londoners spend up to 60 hours a week working – meaning a fifth of those living in the capital have just three hours of "me time" a week. Cambridge residents logged the most office hours , with 64% of people working more than 38 hours a week. In Aberystwyth this fell to around 30 hours.

The busiest occupations were human resources, with almost 75% of HR professionals taking their work home, followed by those in science and the media.

Norwich residents also fared poorly, with the East Anglians grabbing just 45 minutes of time to themselves a day.

Fiona Fyfe, from Windows Live Hotmail, which commissioned the survey, said: "Juggling careers, family, relationships, household chores and financial admin is leaving Brits with little time to spend on themselves. The fact that free time has decreased by eight hours a week over the last five years is testament to how much busier today's lifestyle are.

"Over half of us are in the office for a full five-day week, yet nearly half still bring work home. It's important that we find different ways to save ourselves time."

After work, Fyfe said, personal relationships, family and children take the second and third positions when it comes to where people devote their time.

While women were more likely to separate work and home life, men were more likely to spend longer in the office – around 60% of those surveyed work more than 60 hours a week – but were also more likely to focus more spare time on themselves,with an extra three hours of "me time" on average each week than women.

On a daily basis, women grabbed an average of 50 minutes to themselves compared with an hour and 15 minutes for men.

In March, another survey found that technology contributed to a workaholic culture with staff working up to 10 extra days a year because they were unable to switch off BlackBerrys and mobiles after leaving the office.